


First Prime

by MrProphet



Series: First Life [5]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2017-04-26
Packaged: 2018-10-24 06:05:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10735677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrProphet/pseuds/MrProphet





	First Prime

_Chulak  
AD1985 in the Tau'ri reckoning_

"I fear for my husband," Drey'auc admitted to Seteh'na one day. The two women had been friends for years, but this was the first time Drey'auc had mentioned her concern. Seteh'na's family had long been close friends of Teal'c's, and when Apophis granted his First Prime-elect the land and money to purchase a house for his family, Seteh'na had designed it for him. A lesser woman might have blamed Teal'c for the death of her betrothed, Va'lar, but Seteh'na knew what it was to be Jaffa. She understood the depth of the friendship between the two men, and that Teal'c had only obeyed the will of Apophis. Seteh'na inherited Va'lar's faith in Teal'c, and that faith ran deep enough that when she was in trouble, she had come to him for aid.

Fro'tac of the High Cliffs, a childhood friend of both Va'lar and Teal'c, but a man not given to sentiment, had begun making advances to Seteh'na very soon after Va'lar's death. At first she had been grateful for the company of one who had known her lover, but soon she came to realise that Fro'tac wanted more from her than companionship. She grew frightened and asked him to cease his pursuit of her, and when he continued to press his suit, she turned to Va'lar's killer. The night that Seteh'na came to them in tears, Drey'auc had comforted her while Teal'c went to speak with Fro'tac. Sitting with the other woman, comforting her, had cemented the bond between them the same way that – eighty years before – a shared fear of Ron'ac's violence had created a bond between Teal'c's mother Ry'auc and the priestess Kal'rhe.

"Teal'c is a strong and cautious warrior," Seteh'na assured her friend. "His world is fraught with peril, but he is a survivor." As she spoke, she bounced Teal'c's infant son, Ry'ac on her knee.

"That is not what I mean," Drey'auc said. "He says such strange things sometimes, and I fear that he shall fall foul of Apophis' anger."

"What strange things?" Seteh'na asked.

Drey'auc paused. She trusted Seteh'na more than any of her other friends, but she knew that she could not tell the woman that her betrothed had lived for over twenty years beyond his supposed death, before dying at the hands of his appointed executioner. How could she explain that Va'lar's look of sorrow and understanding still haunted Teal'c's dreams? Seteh'na remained unattached after fifty years, spurning a dozen offers of marriage and twice as many to become a mistress. How could Drey'auc ever tell a woman so devoted that her betrothed had taken a human wife, who had borne him three children before Teal'c slew them all, granting them a swift, clean death as a last favour to his old friend?

"He speaks blasphemy," Drey'auc admitted at last, because that was actually easier. She spoke in a whisper, as though someone might be listening. "He questions the power and divinity of the Gods."

Seteh'na was shocked. "But he is First Prime of Apophis!" She hissed, lowering her voice as Drey'auc had done.

"I know," Drey'auc replied. "And he was so proud when it happened; I felt sure that his doubts were forgotten. But then he went to speak with Master Bra'tac, and when he returned he was dour and pensive. He has been so ever since, and I do not like it. I fear he will do something foolish; that he will die and Ry'ac and I be cast out. So long as he serves well and diligently, this...madness is harmless enough, but if he should speak out of turn, then all of us might suffer. I want my son to know his father."

"If Teal'c speaks out against Apophis, you know that you are bound to report his blasphemy to the temple priests," Seteh'na said. "Perhaps they could help him."

Drey'auc shook her head. "He will not listen to reason," she explained. "He is convinced that he is right. I know that Bra'tac believes the same, and I would not be surprised to learn that the old man has spoken this heresy to other warriors that he has trained."

Seteh'na frowned. "My Va'lar was true to his God, always," she insisted. "He died for Apophis."

Again, Drey'auc felt a twinge of guilt for lying to Seteh'na. "Teal'c believed that the sentence was unfair," she admitted. "That the Gods execute their commanders rather than..."

"No!" Seteh'na snapped, startling Ry'ac and making him cry. Seteh'na tried to soothe and shush him, but in the end was forced to hand the child back to his mother. "I am sorry," Seteh'na said. "But I must believe that...I have to."

Drey'auc nodded her understanding, most of her attention focused on her child. "Hush, now, Ry'ac," she cooed.

"Let me try."

The two women turned to face the door, where Teal'c was just entering. Both felt embarrassed, as though he had actually caught them speaking of his beliefs behind his back. Moving quickly and not meeting her husband's gaze, Drey'auc handed Ry'ac to him, and kissed him briefly on the cheek. Gently, Teal'c began to rock and bounce his son, and almost at once, Ry'ac stopped crying and gave a gurgling laugh.

"You are so good with him," Seteh'na said, with quiet awe. As had her betrothed, she held Teal'c in a kind of reverence, and even Drey'auc's revelations could not shatter that at once.

"My father never held me when I cried," Teal'c said, softly, and Drey'auc felt a pang of jealousy. Although she knew that there was nothing between them, sometimes it felt as though Teal'c were more open about his past with Seteh'na than with his own wife. After fifty years, this could only be about the tenth time that she had even heard him mention his father, and most of the other times had been in Seteh'na's presence.

Ry'ac fell silent, and Teal'c lowered him gently into his crib.

"I should leave you alone," Seteh'na said. "It must be late if you are home."

"Not very," Teal'c replied, although he knew that she was merely making excuses; like all adult Jaffa, Seteh'na had an excellent sense of time. "I was able to get away early for once." Since becoming First Prime, Teal'c had been astonished, and somewhat overwhelmed by the volume of mundane clerical work that the role entailed. A week ago, he had finally caved in under the pressure and hired a young scribe to assist him in the awesome logistical exercise of commanding the Jaffa armies of Apophis, but the job was still fairly gargantuan. He was seriously considering hiring a second scribe to assist the first in assisting him.

Actually commanding the army in the field proved to be the least and simplest of the First Prime's duties. He had to receive regular reports from his armoury officer, an almoner, a purser and the recorder of the dead. Once that was done, he had to summarise the reports in case one of the underlords to whom Apophis occasionally gave some jurisdiction over the Jaffa forces wanted information fast. Teal'c regularly counted his blessings that he could read and write reports while his scribe attended to other duties: His ability to do so was rare among warriors, and even the majority of the Serpent Guard were illiterate.

He had to consult every veteran currently training apprentices over their methods, and the readiness of their chal'ti to become chal'ak and of their chal'ak to enter the field of battle; and he had to do so without insulting them. Perhaps worst of all, he had, with fawning attention to the precise forms of etiquette, to liase with the Goa'uld sorcerers who maintained the death gliders, teltacs, barques and cruisers flown by his pilots; with the Goa'uld pilots who flew the ha'taks that bore his warriors to battle; with the Goa'uld smiths and enchanters who forged the weapons that the Jaffa carried. Their mistakes – or their malice – could kill more Jaffa than any enemy, yet as gods – albeit minor ones – they were beyond the reproach of even a First Prime. Thus he had to balance getting what he needed from them with not offending their divine dignity; a difficult act, even for a man without Teal'c's pride.

"All the same..." Seteh'na went on.

"Stay," Teal'c offered. "I so rarely see anyone from the old days anymore."

"Surely not," Seteh'na demurred. "What of Fro'tac? Do you not serve with him?"

Teal'c grunted, impatiently. "Fro'tac and I do not speak more than we are required to," he said. "Not since...Well, you know what since."

Seteh'na averted her eyes, guiltily.

"It is not your fault," Teal'c assured her. "The blame is Fro'tac's."

"You are very kind," Seteh'na said. "But I should have stopped it sooner, and would have if I had not been flattered by the attention. I should go," she said again. "I too have duties to attend to."

"As you wish," Teal'c relented. He laid his hands on her shoulders, and kissed her softly on the crown of her head. "Be well, Seteh'na."

"Be well, First Prime," Seteh'na replied, bringing a slight frown to Teal'c's brow.

Teal'c waited while Drey'auc showed Seteh'na to the door. "Seteh'na," she began.

"I will tell no-one," the other woman promised. "But if I did not fear to bring this to the attention of the God, I would pray for Teal'c's head to clear. You are right, Drey'auc; this will be trouble."

*

As Teal'c was finding his new duties a burden, so Bra'tac felt the same weight lifting from his shoulders. Following the death of his wife and daughter, he had sometimes found life a burden, and wished for death to come for him, but he was glad to have lived long enough to pass the mantle of First Prime to his apprentice – and his friend – when he was strong and mature, and well-prepared for it. Bra'tac himself had become First Prime of Apophis at the tender age of sixty, and it had come close to killing him; literally. Already wounded, the pain of his initiation had nearly ended his life. He was glad that his survival meant that Teal'c assumed the role at eighty-five, as a full-grown and well-rounded warrior.

Teal'c had been a comfort to Bra'tac in his darkest hours. The boy's potential was incredible, even when his stubborn pride threatened to drive his teacher to murder. Moreover, it was through the boy that Bra'tac had found both a confessor and a confidant, the one in the mendicant chantress, Kal'rhe, the other in Ry'auc. Kal'rhe's wisdom had grounded Bra'tac, and the ceaseless care of his ne'pher had enabled him to cope with all of the other stresses that life had thrown at him.

Now however, even as the trials of commanding Apophis' army were lifted from his back, he found a new source of worry. For several years he had suspected that Ry'auc was hiding something from him, and now he was certain. Sometimes he would find her in hidden corners, weeping bitterly and pretending not to when she saw him. Troubled by this, he would slip away before he was noticed when he could, fearing to intrude. She seemed to have become clumsy of late, and was slower and less rigorous in her work. Bra'tac did not mind this; he had time now to keep his own house, and really kept Ry'auc employed merely for the pleasure of her company, but even that was lacking of late. She grew fey and distracted, and often lost the train of conversations. In a woman who had always been the most alert and perceptive of Jaffa, this caused Bra'tac great concern.

Now he could stand it no longer, and so Bra'tac sought Ry'auc out, finding her in the small room that she had occupied for so many years, sitting quietly at her table. She looked old, and it tore his heart to see her that way, for she was some ten years younger than he.

"Tell me what ails you," he demanded, with characteristic abruptness.

Ry'auc looked up at him with something like relief in her expression. "I have been dreading this moment," she admitted. "But I knew it must come sooner or later." Then she held out her hand, and Bra'tac saw that it was trembling.

"Are you afraid?" Bra'tac asked, sitting beside her.

"No," she replied. "But I can not make it stop. I used to be able to, with just a little concentration, but..." She sighed. "I have the cobra's curse. I have known this for years, but until recently my symbiote has slowed the progression enough that I could continue to function. Now...now I can not hide it any longer, and it is affecting my work."

Bra'tac was alarmed. The cobra's curse was a rare, degenerative palsy that affected a person's ability to control their own body; like a cobra's venom. In Jaffa the onset took decades, but the cause was unknown, and of course the Jaffa had no means of treating it.

"You do not have to work," Bra'tac assured her. "Let things be; I can take care of them now and let you rest."

"No," she protested. "I will not be kept, and I will not be useless. I am dying, dear Bra'tac," she said.

Now it was his turn to protest: "No! You have many years left in you, Ry'auc."

"By inches perhaps, but I am dying," she insisted. "And I do not wish to end up a shivering cripple, unable to move by my own volition. Do you not see that would be worse than death?"

Bra'tac felt something akin to panic as he realised what she was saying, but he could not deny the truth of her words. "I am still permitted access to all parts of the palace," he said. "I can take you to the royal sarcophagus at its heart, and..."

Ry'auc looked appalled. "No, Bra'tac!" She gasped.

"The Guards are loyal to me," he insisted. "No-one would ever know."

"You must not take such a risk." She reached out and took his hand.

Bra'tac clasped his free hand over hers and tried to will her trembling to subside, but to no avail. "I do not want you to die," he said.

Ry'auc smiled at him, with tears in her eyes. "You have always been so very kind to me," she said. "And to my son. You took us in when you had no cause, and you gave me something I had almost forgotten I could have: My dignity."

Bra'tac gave a melancholy smile. "You never lost that, Ry'auc," he assured her. "Even in the camps."

"In the camps I was a whore."

"But a dignified whore," Bra'tac insisted. "The proudest whore I ever laid eyes on."

Ry'auc laughed. "Well, thank you, my dear Bra'tac," she said. "Thank you for everything. You have shown me more respect and honour as your ne'pher than Ron'ac ever showed me as his wife, and that is something that I never hoped to receive from any man."

"Not all men are your husband," Bra'tac assured her. "Your son is not, for one."

"And nor are you, although..." She stopped, and looked away, blushing.

"Ry'auc?"

"It is nothing."

"If this is to be the end," he told her, gently. "Let us be honest with one another."

Ry'auc freed a hand an slid it around Bra'tac's waist, laying her head on his shoulder. "For all the trials of my life, I have but one regret," she said. "That my foolish haste might have kept us from ever living as man and woman. I should not have offered myself to you when I did, and had I known and trusted in you as I do now, I would not have done so."

Bra'tac laid his arm over Ry'auc's shoulders and held her gently. "There was folly on both sides, Ry'auc," he said. "I was in mourning, and your words were ill-chosen and ill-timed, but I should not have spurned you as cruelly as I did." He sighed. "I can not count the number of times I wanted to take those words back."

Ry'auc gave a small sob. Bra'tac stroked his fingers through her hair and shushed her gently, and his own tears fell on her head like rain.

"They say that there is no fool like an old fool," Bra'tac whispered.

"Oh, but we were young fools as well," Ry'auc reminded him. "And now we have nothing left but our folly."

"And Teal'c."

Ry'auc turned her face towards him and smiled. "And Teal'c," she agreed. "And that night," she added, reluctantly.

"Yes," Bra'tac mused. " _That_ night." He knew immediately what she meant. The night a week after his daughter's death; the night of their sole physical union.

"We should not have..."

"No," he agreed, quickly. "Not then. And not like that." That night had been a strange and – although it was hard for him to admit – frightening experience, and one that had driven another wedge between them, deeper and wider than her insensitivity or his hard words. "I have wanted to take that back also."

"We could try," she suggested, reaching up to touch his face.

*

"You seemed very determined that Seteh'na should stay," Drey'auc noted, acidly.

"I worry for her," Teal'c replied. Crouched over his son's crib, he did not appear to notice her tone. "She has no one to care for her or keep her company. Whenever I see her, I think of how lonely I would be without you."

Drey'auc gave a cynical snort. "Perhaps neither of you would be very lonely."

Teal'c looked up, sharply. "What do you mean, woman?" He demanded, short-tempered as ever with her sly insinuations.

Drey'auc faced his flashing anger boldly, knowing that he would never level the full and deadly force of his rage against her, whatever the provocation. "I mean that perhaps if you had not married me, Seteh'na would not have remained unwed."

"You do not know what you are talking about, woman," Teal'c snapped, dismissively.

"No?" Drey'auc took a step towards him. "I see how she looks at you; and the way you care for her."

Teal'c turned away from her. "She is all but the widow of a good friend, dead by my hand. Even were I not a married man it would be obscene for me to pursue her."

"But she is not truly his widow," Drey'auc pressed. "No law or tradition would stand in your way."

"Why do you test me!" Teal'c snapped, spinning around and seizing her by the arms.

Drey'auc looked up at him, laughter and hunger in her dark eyes. "You know why?" She told him.

Teal'c's anger slowly dissolved, replaced as it always was by desire. He smiled, and pulled his wife into a rough kiss. Drey'auc put her arms around his neck and held him tightly.

"You play with fire," Teal'c warned her. "Some day I might hurt you."

"I do not believe it," Drey'auc assured him.

"I love you," Teal'c assured her, proving it with another kiss. "Although you drive me mad, but I am not a safe man to toy with."

Drey'auc looked into his eyes, her expression serious. "I know you," she said. "In fifty years you have never struck me, and you never shall."

"How can you know that?" Teal'c demanded.

"Because I know how far I can push you. And because if you ever raise your hand to me, I will kill you."

Teal'c kissed her again, with redoubled passion, folding her in his powerful embrace. "I shall not forget," he said, fondly, knowing that she meant every word.

"But something troubled you," Drey'auc said, gently, when they were forced to come up for air; being Jaffa, that was not for a long time. "Something that Seteh'na said."

"She calls me 'First Prime' now," Teal'c said. "As does Fro'tac, and the other survivors of my training company in the bash'ak. My closest friends balk at using my given name."

"My poor Teal'c," Drey'auc murmured, aware of the irony that she would normally have called him 'husband', instead of Teal'c, just as he called her 'woman', saving her given name for moments of great intimacy, such as this one.

"Ah, Drey'auc," he whispered. "I am fortunate to have such a wife. I am very fond of Seteh'na, but she would have been a poor substitute for you."

They kissed once again, yet more deeply, and both felt quite light-headed when they were disturbed by an insistent knock at the door. They tried to ignore it, but whoever was there clearly had no intention of going unanswered.

"Teal'c, my love," Drey'auc whispered. "Please find out who that is and kill them."

"Absolutely," Teal'c replied, reluctantly releasing his wife and going to the door.

"First Prime." The person at the door was a young man. Teal'c was not sure, but he thought that he might be one of Bra'tac's Chal'ti.

"Yes?" Teal'c asked, impatiently.

"Master Bra'tac asks that you come to his house at once."

*

Teal'c and Drey'auc went at once to Master Bra'tac's house, pausing only to wrap their baby against the chill of evening. Something in the tone of the messenger's voice, as much as the insistence that they come immediately, told them that this could not wait. Bra'tac met them at the door, and led them to his study, where Ry'auc was waiting. Teal'c's mother rose and fussed over her namesake, lying asleep in Drey'auc's arms, but quickly got down to the matter at hand. Bra'tac seemed very attentive of Ry'auc; unusually so, and it gave Teal'c pause.

"I shall be blunt," Ry'auc said, startling Teal'c. The summons had come from Bra'tac, and he had expected Bra'tac to speak.

"What is wrong, Good Mother?" Drey'auc asked, solicitously.

"I am dying, child," Ry'auc replied. "There is a palsy in my limbs, and I have decided that my time has come."

Teal'c was aghast. "You have decided?" He asked. "Then you are not truly dying?"

Ry'auc sighed. "I should have known that you would raise all the same arguments as Bra'tac," she admitted. "No, I shall not die for some years yet, but nor shall I really be able to live. Therefore, I have decided that I wish for the Rite of M'al Sharran."

"You can not do that!" Teal'c protested.

"Yes I can," Ry'auc insisted. "And furthermore, I shall."

"Mother...!" Teal'c pleaded.

"Please, Teal'c," she said, in a small, quiet voice. There was a long silence, in which Bra'tac and Drey'auc, understanding that this must be settled between the mother and the son, rose and slipped from the study.

"My condition is worse than I let Bra'tac know," Ry'auc explained. "I am alright for most of the morning, but my strength wanes, until by evening I can hardly hold a cup to drink. What will I be like in another seven years? In fourteen?" She went to Teal'c's side and knelt by his chair, folding his hands in her trembling grasp. "Bra'tac would devote himself to caring for me," she went on. "Or he could find someone to tend me as I tended Ariadne, but I do not want to be fed and tended like a babe in arms, and I do not want you to have to see me come to that. Better to go cleanly, when I can. In the end, it shall be easier for all of us."

"I do not wish to lose you, mother," Teal'c sobbed, tears falling from his eyes.

"Hush, my baby," Ry'auc whispered, leaning up to kiss away his tears. "I am sorry to leave you so soon. I so wanted to see Ry'ac grow up; but it is not to be."

"It is not fair," Teal'c protested.

" _Life_ is not fair," Ry'auc told him. "You know that Teal'c, better than anyone. Your father did terrible things, but he did not deserve his fate. You and I did nothing to deserve seven years in the kresh'ta camps. Bra'tac did not deserve the suffering life has brought him." She pressed her son's face between her hands. "Did Va'lar deserve exile? Or death? Did Andromeda? Our people are slaves to cruel and capricious gods, Teal'c," she told him. "So long as that is true, what we deserve and what we receive bear no relation to each other.

"The power of the Gods could save me, but they would never allow it, though it would cost them little. Such is our lot."

"Why must it be that way?" Teal'c demanded.

"Because we have no power to change the way of the world," she replied. "Those who seek openly to challenge their gods will be struck down. All that can be done is what you and Bra'tac do; to try and protect those you can."

"Is it enough?"

Ry'auc hugged her son, tightly. "It must be," she said. "For it is all you have to give, and only the false, cruel gods would ask more than that."

Teal'c choked back another sob. "Tell me then," he said, forcing a calm into his voice that he did not feel. "What would you have me do when you are dead?"

Ry'auc smiled. "I should like to be buried with Bra'tac's family," she said. "I have served them for so long, I do not wish to be parted from them; even in death. You will look after him, will you not?" She asked.

Teal'c was confused. "Ry'ac?" He asked.

"No," his mother replied. "Bra'tac."

"Master Bra'tac..."

"Has leaned heavily upon me these last decades," Ry'auc assured him. "He is a fine, strong man, but losing Andromeda caught him unprepared."

"As it caught us all."

"Of course," she agreed. "But I was there for him as much as he would let me, and now I shall not be. You and Drey'auc will have to try and care for him without stifling. He is a proud man – almost as proud as you – and he does not take kindly to coddling."

"When will you perform the Rite?" Teal'c asked.

"When it is time for my prim'ta to leave me," she explained. "Within the month."

Teal'c gave a strangled cry. "It is too soon."

"It is too late," Ry'auc corrected him. "I should have told you this years ago, but I still wanted to protect you, my sweet boy."

"I am sorry that I can not protect you," Teal'c whispered.

"You have done better than that," she assured him. "You have made your old mother proud."

*

For the next few weeks, Teal'c tried to keep busy, but found that he could not. He was unable to concentrate on his work, and Ry'auc had entrusted all of the funerary arrangements to the same chantress who had buried Ariadne and Andromeda. He and Drey'auc spent a great deal of time at Bra'tac's house, less so that they could tend to Ry'auc, who still refused to be waited on, than so that she could spend her remaining days with her grandson.

"He has his father's eyes," Ry'auc commented.

"His grandmother's eyes," Teal'c corrected her.

Ry'auc smiled. "He shall be a thief of hearts," she predicted. "Not that any child of yours and Drey'auc's could be otherwise. Do you plan to have more children?"

Teal'c smiled back, but the expression was subdued. "If raising Ry'ac does not drive us from our wits, we hope to have at least one more once he is grown to manhood."

Ry'auc sighed. Teal'c knew that she was regretting that she would never see her second grandchild, nor her first as a grown man. In return, she knew that he understood, and so neither of them spoke of it.

"Did I ever tell you," she asked. "That I had the auguries cast for him when he was born?"

"For Ry'ac?"

"Yes," Ry'auc replied. "He will be a great leader of the Jaffa," she said. "He will never excel as a warrior, but mighty warriors will follow him."

Teal'c laughed. "What leader could the Jaffa have that is not a warrior?"

"He will not excel as a warrior," Ry'auc repeated. "I never said that he would not be one."

"What did my auguries say?" He asked.

"I can not tell you," his mother insisted. "It is bad luck."

"Superstitious nonsense," Teal'c scoffed, for while all children in the domain of Cronus had the omens of their birth read and recorded, those in the service of Apophis eschewed such archaic mysticism. In its place, Apophis' Jaffa took the far more modern and scientific course of guarding against fate with prayer and incantations over the child's crib.

For all this scepticism, Teal'c would have liked to hear more of his son's illustrious future, but he was never to have the chance. At that moment, Drey'auc interrupted to say it was time for her to feed Ry'auc, and before they could settle again, Bra'tac came out into the courtyard to tell them that a messenger had come for Teal'c.

"A messenger from the palace," he added, ominously. "Your presence is commanded at once."

*

The Serpent Guards at the doors of the palace inclined their heads respectfully when their commander approached. The doors swung wide to receive the First Prime of Apophis, and a slender woman in a white, silk dress stood waiting for him.

"Praise to you, Seket Paternyt-Apep," Teal'c greeted the woman with a small bow.

"Honour to you, First Prime of Apophis," Seket replied, her voice throbbing with the Goa'uld resonance. "My Lord Apophis bid that you enter his sanctum at once. My Lord also wishes to express his condolences on your impending loss."

"My thanks to Lord Apophis, and all my prayers and devotion," Teal'c replied, although he knew that these sentiments did not come from Apophis.

Few Jaffa, even few First Primes had ever been aware of it, but Teal'c knew that Seket was well-named Paternyt-Apep – the Witness of Apophis. It was her duty to see and hear what went on in the domestic and otherwise trivial doings of Apophis' servants, and so to remind those servants that Apophis knew all that they did. It was not Apophis' wish however that his witness ever speak to him of that which she learned, for the petty doings of his Jaffa were of no interest to him.

"However," Seket went on. "My Lord Apophis also questions the wisdom of a First Prime participating in a questionable ceremony, such as the one you plan for your mother's burial."

"I thank My Lord for his concern," Teal'c replied, holding a tight rein on his emotions. "But as Master Bra'tac has conducted such funerary rites twice before, I am confident that Apophis shall watch over and smile upon me." More than that, Teal'c was certain that on those two occasions, Seket had not informed Apophis of Bra'tac's doings, and so she could not take action now without revealing her own past oversight.

"Of course," Seket said, tightly, inclining her head in acknowledgement of this small defeat while masking as best she could her anger and resentment. "In Our Lord Apophis we place our faith. Attend him now; and may he look on you with the favour your service earns."

 

Apophis' throne room was a dark and cavernous hall, dominated solely by the mighty throne of the God. Flanked by Serpent Guards, Apophis sat resplendent on the throne, radiating a power and majesty challenged only by that of his Queen, Amaunet. Rumoured by some to be older and more powerful even than her husband, Amaunet stood at his left hand, wrapped in an aura of icy calm to match the uncanny pallor of her skin. While there were Jaffa on Chulak of many different colours, some darker than Teal'c, other's paler than Seteh'na, few had ever seen a woman as fair of skin as Amaunet. There was something almost inhuman about her, more so than any other God Teal'c had ever encountered.

"All praise to you, My Lord. I attend you at your command," Teal'c said, bowing low before his God.

"Arise, First Prime of Apophis." Teal'c caught himself before he could start in amazement. The voice that commanded him was Amaunet's.

Teal'c stood. "All praise to you, My Lady."

"Your Queen is troubled," Apophis said. He held out his hand, and Amaunet laid her pale fingers in his palm. "One of our servants has allowed a certain item to be lost; an item most precious to my beloved Amaunet."

"Is it your wish that I retrieve this item?" Teal'c asked.

"That shall be attended to by another of our servants," Apophis assured him. "We wish you to lead a select group of our warriors to bring the retribution of Apophis upon this errant and insolent vassal."

"She must be punished for dishonouring us in this way," Amaunet snapped. "We shall have revenge. She shall suffer for all eternity."

"Your Queen has devised a most elegant revenge," Apophis noted.

Amaunet smiled, coldly. Her eyes burned in the Goa'uld way, and so pale was her skin that the light seemed to suffuse her face with a demonic glow. "You will lead our warriors to the palace of this insolent witch. Her Jaffa and the officers of her court shall die, and she will be struck down, but not slain. The blow that you will strike her will only weaken her. You shall seal her in a chamber beneath her hall, and with her you shall seal a leper girl."

Teal'c could not hold back his question: "Why a leper girl?"

"Do not question us, First Prime," the Queen commanded, angrily. "The leper girl is cursed for her blasphemy; unclean-upon-unclean. Her corruption will infect the vile one who offended us, and so we shall be avenged. Once the chamber is sealed you will set the palace aflame," she finished, almost as an afterthought. "You will burn the town around it, and salt the earth."

"It shall be as you command," Teal'c promised, not wishing either Apophis or Amaunet to see a need to clarify the last order. As it stood, he could spare the people of the town.

"This shall be your first command as First Prime without the supervision of your predecessor," Apophis noted. "Are you ready to bear the burden of this mantle."

"Simply give me the name of this treacherous goddess to whom I must deliver your justice," Teal'c said. "And tell me where I might find her."

Apophis smiled. "We believe that she is known to you," he said. "Her name is Amut, and she holds the domain of Nagaz."

*

With a list of warriors in his hand, Teal'c went from the throne room to the office assigned him as First Prime. He studied the list as he walked, and sure enough he found that among the two companies assigned for this mission were the names of every Jaffa who had gone into their first battle at his side; or at least of those who still lived. It seemed as though Apophis had determined that those who raised Amut by destroying Zalian in her name were to bring about her fall.

"Kech'ek!" Teal'c called as he entered the office, and his clerk leaped to his feet. "Send out messengers to summon these warriors," Teal'c instructed, handing the boy the list. "And do you know of any other scribes who could work here with you?" He added, as an afterthought.

"My sister," Kech'ek replied at once. "She is skilled, but..."

"But few people want a female scribe," Teal'c finished for him. "Very well. When you have summoned those warriors to me, tell your sister I wish to employ her. She can assist you in clearing up this mess," he went on, sifting idly through the stacks of tablets and scrolls on the table.

"Yes, First Prime."

The boy left, and Teal'c sank wearily into his chair. The Jaffa existed to wage war in the name of their gods, and were taught from an early age to crave battle. But Teal'c did not want to go into battle, not now. Soon his mother would be dead, and he should be with her before the end, but gods cared nothing for such matters. Why should they? They preferred to avoid death, and never made reference to those of their number that no longer lived. To do so would be to acknowledge their own mortality, even if their deceased brethren had died by their command. Did Apophis ever know the Queen who bore him? Did he mourn her passing when she died?

Teal'c sat there, lost in contemplation, until he was dragged from his maudlin thoughts by a piercing scream.

_*_

The screams continued as Teal'c made his way to the courtyard, interspersed with a savage tumult of curses and blasphemies, as the screamer railed against Apophis as a false god. As he grew nearer, Teal'c could make out the soft whine of a pain-giver before each scream. To be able to withstand such punishment and still give voice, the victim of this torture must surely have been subjected to the same kind of pain, over and over again.

Teal'c emerged into the courtyard, and saw a squad of Jaffa arrayed near to the Gate. A tall, powerful man with an air of command led them, and held a chain in his hand. At the far end of the chain was an iron collar, fastened around the neck of a thin girl, dressed in ragged clothes. Her skin was marred by lesions, and given how rare sickness was among the Jaffa, Teal'c knew that this must be the leper.

One of the warriors held a pain-giver, and drove it again and again into the girl's side. As Teal'c reached them, he was drawing back for another blow. Teal'c grabbed his wrist and held it tightly. The other Jaffa struggled, but Teal'c was the stronger.

"You dare...!" The Jaffa began, half turning, a look of sadistic glee fading into anger. He froze when he saw Teal'c's calm, emotionless face before him, and fell silent.

"I do, Jor'lac of the Black Lane," Teal'c replied, tightening his grasp on his old enemy's wrist and twisting it, until he was forced to let the pain-giver fall. "You should not be harming the God's property for your own enjoyment." By Teal'c's lights, no Jaffa should harm anyone for pleasure, but he knew that the other man thought differently. Whether it had some twisted root in his defeat at the hands of Andromeda, or whether it predated his brutal murder of Teal'c's beloved friend, Jor'lac liked hurting women.

"This is outrageous!" The man holding the chain exclaimed. Teal'c was not in the least surprised to hear that he was Goa'uld. "Who is this who dares interfere with my detail?"

"He is the First Prime of Apophis," Seket informed the newcomer. "And he is correct, Apsis. This creature is not yours to play with." There was no love lost between Seket and Teal'c, and he had no illusions that she defended him from goodwill. This Apsis was an outsider – whether he commanded a detail of Serpent Guards or not – and she would support the First Prime – a fellow palace servant – against _any_ outsider, Jaffa or Goa'uld.

"Bring her," Seket ordered Apsis. "Attend us, First Prime; and have one of your men see to the billeting of Lord Apsis' troops for the night."

"Yes, My Lady," Teal'c replied, signalling to his barrack prime, Nen'ac. Almost as old as Bra'tac and as retired as any Jaffa could be, Nen'ac's only remaining role was to attend to the use and maintenance of the palace barracks.

"Yes, First Prime?" Nen'ac asked.

"See that these Serpent Guards are given a place to sleep. Somewhere...suitable," he added.

"Yes, Master Teal'c," Nen'ac acknowledged. "I know just the..."

The barrack master tailed off as a scuffle broke out behind Teal'c. With a sudden twist, the leper girl had wrenched her chain free of Apsis' grasp and made a dash for the gate. Two of Jor'lac's Jaffa leaped to tackle her, but she evaded one and raked her nails down the face of the other. She hared past Jor'lac himself, and for a moment Teal'c felt a wave of sympathy for her plight. The moment passed however, and he realised that if he allowed her to escape, he and his family would suffer.

As the girl passed him, Teal'c reached out and snagged her wrist. She twisted and lost her footing, and a moment later Teal'c had her other wrist firmly pinned. He turned her about and held tightly to her thrashing form until Apsis could come and take up her chain once more.

"Damn you all!" She spat. "And damn your false god! I would wish you all to rot in the pits of Arallu, if only they were not the abode of more false gods!"

"Curse you!" Apsis snarled. "Jor'lac; the fire stick!"

"Do not be a fool," Seket sneered. "She was struck with the pain-giver not five minutes ago and she is able to outmanoeuvre your entire detail. You have clearly used it so much that it has lost all effectiveness. Just keep hold of her this time and come along." She turned towards the injured Jaffa. "And you," she said. "Get along to the temple and have the healers excise the injured flesh; otherwise you shall be tainted by her curse."

The Jaffa blanched, and headed for the temple as fast as he could whilst retaining a shred of dignity.

"This infection affects Jaffa?" Teal'c asked, releasing the girl to Apsis' custody a little faster than was entirely dignified.

"It is a holy curse," Seket replied. "Laid upon the girl by Apophis himself as a punishment for her blasphemies. She has been kept alive to suffer for her vile words, but now, in his mercy, Apophis has granted her the right to earn death in his service."

"Apophis is no more god than I am," the girl said, her voice oddly measured.

"Silence!" Apsis snapped, slapping her hard. Just for a moment, a shadow of fear crossed the Goa'uld's face, and he looked in horror at the hand that had struck the woman.

"Go on," the leper goaded. "Hit me again. Strike me until I bleed, if you think that your 'divinity' will shield you from my sickness."

Seket turned to the girl, and spoke to her in a language that Teal'c did not understand. Her tone was bland, but the leper blanched and fell silent. "You are a crude being," Seket told Apsis. "Why My Lord Apophis shows you any favour at all I shall never know."

Apsis hissed, but dared not speak out against the Witness.

"Mark me, First Prime," Seket added. "Do not allow your men to...interfere with the girl, or they shall regret it."

Teal'c looked the leper over, and decided that was unlikely to be a problem. He thought that she had probably been a great beauty once upon a time; honey-skinned, with black hair and black eyes. Now though, her face was a ruin of scabs and lesions, her arms were scarred, and her lop-sided gait suggested that her legs were equally ravaged and painful. Now that her screams had subsided, she held herself with a pride and dignity that touched Teal'c's warrior-heart, but only a shadow of her beauty remained to her, and few men would find her enticing now.

As if sensing his thoughts, she looked up at the First Prime of Apophis and winked. "It is not what is on the outside that counts," she assured him, in a sultry tone. "Give me thirty shes'tas and I will show you pleasures beyond your dreams." Somehow Teal'c did not doubt her words, and he shivered.

"Be silent," Seket said, without looking at the woman.

"It would not take long," the leper promised.

"Slut," Apsis hissed.

"Well, yes," she admitted, without offence. "But you know I am worth it."

Apsis hissed again, in impotent rage. Against his better judgement, Teal'c found himself warming to this girl, but he fought against the sentiment, knowing he was to play a part in her destruction.

"I said, be silent," Seket repeated, fixing the leper with her gaze. Once more, the girl grew pale. She bit back a retort and stared at the ground in front of her. "And you should have known better," she told Apsis.

"She lies!" The Goa'uld insisted.

"We shall see." Seket halted at the doors of the throne room. "Take the girl in," she instructed Apsis. "First Prime, come with me."

 

Once the doors had closed behind Apsis, Seket led Teal'c to her office. It was very much like his own, but nestled at the back of a bustling, cavernous room, where dozens of scribes slaved over papyri and tablets, organising the affairs of the palace. The office itself was kept obsessively neat, and Seket moved with almost ceremonial precision as she crossed to a cabinet, removed a ceramic pot and a crystal decanter, and poured a goblet of wine from the latter. She moved to her high-backed chair, and gestured for Teal'c to help himself to klah'c from the pot.

It was hot, Teal'c noted, presuming that a slave must have placed it in the cabinet just before their arrival.

"Apsis is an ass," Seket began, with disarming openness. "I doubt that one so observant as yourself can have missed that."

"As you say, My Lady," Teal'c replied, diplomatically.

"He is, however, an ass in high favour, and so despite his monumental stupidity, he is to be given governorship of Nagaz. In such a role, he shall be permitted to appoint a Primarch to lead his forces; perhaps you can guess who he has in mind?"

"Jor'lac," Teal'c snarled, then caught himself, and quickly added: "My Lady."

Seket smiled, indulgently. "I know of your history with Jor'lac," she said. "And I do not care. However, our enemies have allied themselves for mutual gain, and for that reason, I believe that we should do the same."

"My Lady?" Teal'c asked, feigning bewilderment.

"You are skilled at evading this game," Seket told him, searching his form and posture with her eyes. "Less so at playing it. I could make things very difficult for your mother, without having to inform Lord Apophis of your plans, or I could ensure that her Rite of M'al Sharran, her funeral, and her grave are all undisturbed. If I have your cooperation, I can even take steps to make certain that she does not have to undergo the Rite until your return."

"My Lady is too kind," Teal'c replied, blandly, although his heart was twisting in his chest. "And what form of cooperation does a goddess require of her humble servant."

Seket's smile became predatory and triumphant, enjoying her advantage over Teal'c. "Apsis is a thug. By directing his brutality towards her rivals he has curried favour with Our Queen, but he is nothing more than a vicious hound; much like his Primarch-elect. This being so," she went on, he smile deepening as Teal'c reacted with anger to the mere mention of his enemy. "I can guarantee that one of them will make a fatal mistake; and sooner rather than later. That does me not the slightest good, however, unless I have a reliable witness there to see it happen. You are the only Jaffa in Apophis' service who could give evidence of a Goa'uld's failure or betrayal and expect anything but death."

"You wish me to report any such failure to you?" Teal'c asked.

"Not quite," Seket replied. She took a papyrus from her desk. "Keep this with you at all times," she cautioned. "It is a warrant for the execution of Apsis." She passed him another papyrus. "And this is for the death of Jor'lac."

Teal'c felt a trembling in his limbs, and just for a moment, he would have done _anything_ that Seket asked of him.

"The wording is vague," Seket explained. "But the documents are valid, and bear the seal of Apophis. I shall give Apsis' secret name to your weapons, and if he steps out of line, you shall kill him. I am certain that you shall need no incentive of assistance from me should an opportunity present itself to exercise the warrant on Jor'lac, but I caution you that he _must_ give you cause, or this shall destroy us both. The girl is the most likely opportunity," she added. "Both Apsis and Jor'lac shall be ordered not to touch her or injure her, but they share a delight in the suffering of women."

Something in her tone caught Teal'c's attention. "Apsis hurt you," he realised, speaking the thought out loud before he could stop himself.

"It is noth..." Seket broke off her denial. "Be silent!" She snapped, waspishly, but Teal'c could not have spoken if he had wanted to. He could hardly believe what he had just heard: He had committed the unforgivable sin of showing concern for a Goa'uld as though he were her equal, and she had responded to his sympathy. Teal'c shuddered to think what terrible violation Apsis could possibly have committed against Seket, to make a Goa'uld forget herself so.

"My motivation is none of your concern," she continued, trying to cover for her own lapse. "Do you understand my instructions?"

This was the test, Teal'c realised. Seket's hands were out of sight, doubtless holding a weapon on him, ready to kill him if he gave the wrong answer.

"I understand," he replied. "And I obey the command of My Lord's most faithful and trusted servant, My Lady Seket."

Seket searched Teal'c's face, but he had nothing to hide from her. She had given him the means to take his revenge, and avenging Apsis' crime against her was a small price to pay. At length, she nodded. "I am sure that I do not need to remind you that this commission must not interfere with the success of your mission?" She asked.

"No, My Lady."

"Very good. You are dismissed, First Prime. Have your troops ready to move in the morning."

"Yes, My Lady," Teal'c acknowledged. He hesitated a moment. "My Lady...?"

Seket cut him off with a gesture. She stood, took a hand device from her cabinet, and held it about an inch in front of Teal'c's chest. The gem in the centre of the device glowed, and she ran it along both of his arms and torso. His skin tingled pleasantly.

"You were not in contact with her long enough for the curse to pass to you," Seket said, lowering her hand.

Teal'c was startled that the goddess had divined his concern so accurately. "Thank you, My Lady," he said.

Seket merely nodded, dismissively, and Teal'c turned to go. At the door, a strange impulse seized him, and he looked back. "Apsis shall pay, My Lady," he promised.

"What?" She asked, baffled.

"For what he did to you," Teal'c explained. "I swear to you, I shall make him pay."

For a moment, Seket looked at a loss, a melancholy, almost vulnerable expression on her face. "If your faith is strong," she said. "You might find it informative to speak with the leper before her death."

"My Lady?"

"You are dismissed, First Prime," Seket reminded him.

Teal'c bowed, his mind racing as he tried to discern the meaning of her words. "Yes, My Lady."

*

The leper girl had been transferred to a cage within a dismal cell. He wrists were manacled to opposite sides of the cage, and a mild tranquilliser had been introduced into her system, to keep her from hurting herself. The tranquilliser had been designed quite specifically however to numb and incapacitate the body without dulling the mind, and so she was completely aware of her surroundings. Two guards waited outside the cell, but there was really no one within hearing range, and so she had ceased to force her blasphemous cries through her half-paralysed throat.

The guards were surprised to see the First Prime approaching, but they had been trained to duty and obedience, and at his gesture they opened the cell door and allowed him to pass. One of them belonged to Teal'c's Serpent Guard; the other was of Apsis' retinue; his presence here a deliberate insult to the competence of Teal'c's warriors.

Teal'c entered the cell and closed the door behind him.

"First Prime of Apophis," the woman greeted him in arch tones. "This is an honour. Have you decided to take me up on my offer?"

"I have not," Teal'c replied.

"Perhaps Apophis is less generous than Inanna," the woman hazarded. "I dishonour my Goddess by offering myself for any less than thirty, so I am quite prepared to lower my price."

"Who are you?" Teal'c asked. "Why do you defy the gods?"

"My name is Maewa," she replied. "I am...Or rather I _was_ a priestess in the Temple of Inanna at Zabalam."

"You were a priestess, yet you offer your body for money!" Teal'c exclaimed, horrified. "Have you no shame?"

Maewa laughed in the face of Teal'c's indignation. "The priestesses of Inanna are prostitutes by calling," she told him. "Some are Jaffa, others human, as I am, but all offer their favours for thirty shes'tas a time."

"That is a lot of money," Teal'c commented. His own mother had, in the time when she had been forced to sell herself, charged a mere fifteen shes'tis a time.

"We have much training," Maewa assured him. "Even blighted as I am, I assure you that you would not feel cheated."

"That is not why I am here," Teal'c told her, gruffly, beginning to feel awkward in the presence of a woman so bold and direct. However they might behave in private, Chulakan women were expected to be meek and deferential in public or with strange men.

"Pity," she replied, moving her eyes searchingly up and down his powerful frame, in a manner quite different from that which Seket had employed.

"How did a priestess of Inanna end up the prisoner of Apophis?" Teal'c pressed.

"Apophis' First Prime does not know?"

"I am new to this office," Teal'c admitted.

Maewa laughed again. "That much is obvious," she assured him. "Well then, five years ago the armies of Apophis arrived on Zabalam, intent on seizing it from Inanna. We prayed to the goddess for aid, begging her to come and counter the assault, but she made no answer. Apophis' agent, Apsis, declared that as we were whores and harlots we should not be shown the deference due to conquered priestesses. He commanded the Jaffa in the battalion stationed to control Zabalam to gather us in a holding area. We were arranged from youngest to oldest, and when the Jaffa desired relief the next priestess in line would be required to provide it. I was but recently graduated from the status of bulüg-en – a novice – to that of full-fledged en-priestess, and so I was the first.

"Sex for us was a form of prayer, so as that ha'shak Jor'lac..." She tailed off, for the first time seeming ill-at-ease. "I prayed for the Goddess to strike our enemies down in this moment of distraction. When that did not happen, I prayed for her to strike down Jor'lac, at least. At the last, I simply prayed for her to let me die.

"She did not answer me," Maewa finished in a small voice. "I stopped believing that day."

"In Inanna?"

"In any god. I had been marked down to become an avatar of the Goddess one day," she went on. "And so I knew a little more about the Goa'uld than most. I knew that the Goddess' essence would be transferred to me through one of the emanations carried by the Jaffa. I had seen the ritual of implantation in which a host becomes Goa'uld, and I had often wondered how such a fragile creature could be divine. At that moment, I realised that they were not. If Inanna would let this happen to her chosen, it must be because she was powerless to act, and so she could be no divine creature; thus nor could any other Goa'uld.

"After I had been called on three or four times, I knew that I could rely only on myself. I killed the Jaffa who came for me with his own knife, and fled. Some of the others escaped in the confusion, but they wanted only to return to the remains of the temple to pray for Inanna's aid, believing that some dearth of faith was responsible for her silence.

"With my faith in gods destroyed, I went to the people. I told them that no aid would come from the skies, and tried to rally them to fight back themselves. I actually managed to muster quite a respectable force before the end. We became enough of a threat that Apophis announced the largest bounty ever levelled at a mere human from an undeveloped world would be placed on my head."

"That is quite an honour," Teal'c agreed. "Was that how you were captured?"

Maewa shook her head. "I almost wish I had been betrayed for something so base as money. After almost a year, Inanna finally responded to the calls of her priestesses. Her warriors came in her sky-ships and from the Chappa'ai, and drove Apophis' forces from Zabalam. Her temple was restored and her worship resumed. My fighters saw this, and all that I had tried to teach them was blown away in a gale of religious hysteria. They ran back to the temple," she continued, bitterly. "Fell to their knees and begged for forgiveness. They were frightened and desperate, and in their fear they made Inanna an offering."

"You," Teal'c realised.

"I," she confirmed. "The treacherous heresiarch. In her 'mercy', Inanna granted me life in exile, but that was a lie to appease those who still held me in some regard. She did indeed send me through the Chappa'ai, but instead of a remote world, she sent me to Apophis as a peace offering."

Maewa looked at Teal'c, her eyes narrowing shrewdly. "You seem less upset by my blasphemies than you should be," she noted.

"It would seem futile to grow angry with one in your position," Teal'c demurred.

She leaned towards him as far as she was able. "Please," she begged. "I have little to offer anymore, but whatever I can give is yours."

"If I release you, my family will suffer," Teal'c replied. "I can not allow that."

"I do not wish you to let me go," she said. "Do you think I want to live like this? But you have it in your power to end my suffering."

"You will be dead soon enough," he promised.

"Do you not understand what is to happen to me?" Maewa cried, desperately. "Do you think I goaded Jor'lac and Apsis because I enjoyed the pain? I could not hope for a swift and gentle death from them, but any death would be preferable to the life Apophis has condemned me to."

"Apophis has declared you are to die..."

"It is a lie!" She snapped. "Can you not see his mind, First Prime? Do you not know how the prim'ta becomes a walking god? I am not to be _allowed_ to die, Teal'c; not for a very long time. I did not just question the gods, I led others to do the same: Humans and Jaffa. For a few, short months, I persuaded enough of the Goa'uld's followers to turn from them that I became a danger.

"I made them fear me, Teal'c, and they will never, _ever_ forgive me for that.

"For my crime, I am to suffer for aeons as the diseased vessel of a false goddess. You will wound Amut, and seal her away with me, and as her host dies she will pass to the only new one available, even my raddled form. She will be unable to cure me of this plague, and unable to find another vessel, but the chamber will have a mineral spring, and that is all a Goa'uld requires to live for many, many years. She shall be trapped in this leprous form until Apophis sees fit to release her, or her strength at last gives out, or she finds the courage to die." She gave a bitter laugh. "I loathe the Goa'uld with all my heart, but even were I not the chosen vessel, I would think this too cruel a thing to do to Amut."

"What shall become of you?" Teal'c asked.

"I shall abide," Maewa assured him. "Trapped more absolutely even than Amut; a prisoner not just in this diseased flesh, but in my very mind. They say that the host is aware of nothing, but...Perhaps it will be a kind of death, but I do not dare to hope it." She sighed. "So you see, it would be a kindness to kill me."

"I am sorry," Teal'c said. "But I can not. I must obey My Lord Apophis, or my wife and son shall suffer."

Maewa nodded. "I understand," she said. "Rebellion was easier for me than for many, since I had no-one who depended on me. But if you will not help me, I shall have to try and find another way out. Of course," she added. "I know of your doubts now. I could force you to aid me, but I do not wish to hurt you and yours to save myself."

"You are very kind," Teal'c replied.

"You seem a good man," she told him. "I am sorry."

"For what?"

"For the fact that you must be a slave," she said.

_*_

Disturbed by Maewa's words, Teal'c rested at the barracks that night instead of returning home. He sent word to his wife at the house of Bra'tac via messenger, but she had long-since gone to her own house when Bra'tac answered the door to admit a pair of hooded figures.

"Kal'rhe," Bra'tac greeted the chantress. "And Tan'aul," he added, acknowledging her former tok'ai novice, now a full-fledged mendicant priestess, but still her teacher's constant shadow.

"Bra'tac," Kal'rhe returned. "I am sorry that we have taken so long to come."

Bra'tac shrugged off the apology. "I know that we are not your only duty, however fondly you regard Teal'c and his mother."

"And you," Kal'rhe assured him. "You have a great heart and a noble spirit, Bra'tac." She smiled, kindly. "But let us not speak of such things at this sad time. I should go to Ry'auc. Tan'aul, stay with Master Bra'tac; I would speak with my friend alone."

"Yes, Tal ma'te," Tan'aul acknowledged.

 

"Good evening, Kal'rhe," Ry'auc greeted her old friend. As she had told Teal'c, by this time of day she barely had the strength to sit up in bed, and her arms were trembling uncontrollably.

Kal'rhe sat at Ry'auc's bedside, and folded the other woman's shaking hands in her own. "Dear Gods, Ry'auc," she whispered. "How can this be? How can your condition have become so desperate without any of us noticing?"

"Do not blame yourselves," Ry'auc told her, almost managing to mask the fear in her voice. "I went to great lengths to hide this."

"You have extraordinary strength," Kal'rhe told her, pressing her hands firmly.

Ry'auc gasped, feeling a warming glow pass out of the priestess' palms and into her limbs. The trembling eased, only a little, but the relief was great. "How...?" She asked.

"Never mind that," Kal'rhe said, pushing back her hood, something that she almost never did, even in private. The silver raven tattooed on her brow revealed her past as a temple priestess of Cronus; not something calculated to bring favourable reactions on Chulak.

Ry'auc gasped again. "Kal'rhe," she whispered. "You look so young."

"Looks can be deceiving," Kal'rhe assured her. "I may not show my years, but I feel them, and more besides. But I did not come here to talk about myself."

Ry'auc shook her head. "You are a rare woman," she told Kal'rhe. "Bra'tac thinks that there is something uncanny about you."

"Bra'tac is a perceptive man, but superstitious."

"He is also right," Ry'auc noted. "But I am more interested to know how it is that a woman such as yourself still lives alone in the camps. Surely there are men who have been interested?"

"I entered the temple when I was all but a child," Kal'rhe replied. "The first I really knew of men was when your husband tried to..." She broke off, awkwardly. "Although as a mendicant I am no longer sacrosanct, I have been wary of men since then."

Ry'auc grimaced. "I am sorry to have brought you to that," she said.

Kal'rhe shrugged. "Certainly, I have never found a man to whom I wished to give myself completely, but this is not to say that I have remained a stranger to men," she assured Ry'auc, with a coquettishly smile. "Tan'aul seems to be modelling herself on me, although abstinence is less in her nature than it is in mine. I have almost lost count of her lovers, but I am pleased to see that she has outgrown her need for a permanent keeper." The priestess smiled. "And we are speaking of me again," she observed.

"What is there left to say of me?" Ry'auc asked. "My life is done."

"Not yet," Kal'rhe replied. "And while life remains within you, I wish to learn all I can about you. You are now my oldest, and almost my only friend, but there are still secrets that you hold from me."

"Such as?"

"Such as the fact that since I saw you last, you and Bra'tac have become intimate."

Ry'auc blushed. "It was..." She paused, deciding not to brush off or belittle what had occurred. "It is something that should have happened long ago."

"I know it is," Kal'rhe agreed. "Our people live in a hard, cruel world, but if ever two Jaffa deserved a little happiness in each other, they are you and Bra'tac." She squeezed her friend's hands again. "I can also see that something is troubling you," she added. "What is it that you fear."

Ry'auc sighed. "I am so close to death," she admitted. "Yet I fear that my son shall precede me into the duat."

"It shall not happen," Kal'rhe promised. "His destiny is far from complete, my dear friend. I do not think he will die for some time yet."

"But I am so afraid..."

"He shall live," Kal'rhe promised. "You shall survive until his return, and he shall sit by you in the Rite of M'al Sharran."

Ry'auc looked up at the chantress. "I do not think so," she said, regretfully. "I do not think that my prim'ta will consent to stay that long."

 

Kal'rhe descended the stairs with a heavy tread. "She is resting," she told Bra'tac. "But the Rite will have to be performed soon. I am afraid that we may not have time for Teal'c to return from this mission, and I doubt that Apophis would grant him leave from duty to attend."

Bra'tac gave a mirthless laugh. "It would be suicide even to ask. This is the first time he will be sent on a mission without my supervision and guidance. I have no doubt that he shall do well, but his performance shall mark him for the rest of his life. Should he fail...he will be replaced as First Prime, and his successor ordered to execute him."

"Yet it means so much for them both," Kal'rhe sighed.

They were interrupted by a pounding at the door. "I shall answer," Tan'aul said, leaving the older Jaffa to talk.

Kal'rhe pursed her lips in thought. "Perhaps...Bra'tac; could you gain access to the palace apothecary?"

"Of course," Bra'tac replied. "But why?"

"There is a herb," she explained. "Pal'ok root. It can slow the development of the prim'ta for many years, although in this case it may be too late to apply it."

"It would be."

Kal'rhe turned in alarm at the resonant voice, cutting herself off before she could ask the Goa'uld who she was. As a mendicant she was theoretically autonomous, but angry Goa'uld rarely cared much for theory. The newcomer had the body of a slim, dark woman, and she was plainly travelling incognito, dressed in a Jaffa robe. Behind her stood a Jaffa, a bodyguard no doubt, with Tan'aul watching both warily and rubbing her shoulder.

"Praise to you, Seket Paternyt-Apep," Bra'tac greeted the seneschal with great deference. "What brings you to my humble dwelling, My Lady?"

"I have not come to answer questions," she replied. She turned to face Kal'rhe. "You are correct, Daughter; pal'ok root would be too little, too late, and hardly worth the risk of possessing a drug so very illegal." She reached into he robe, and withdrew a small pouch.

"This is pa'neri," she explained. "Similar in its effects to pal'ok root, but more potent. What you have there, mixed with water, will cause the prim'ta within the Jaffa Ry'auc to fall into a sort of biological stasis. She will be weakened, but the prim'ta shall not emerge until the dosage wears off."

"Why?" Kal'rhe asked, boldly.

"That is not your affair," Seket replied. "Do as I say, and the woman shall live to see her son's return; otherwise she shall not. I care little which choice you make, but be sure that you destroy all traces of the drug that remain. It is death to all within these walls if you are caught with it. Fare you well, Jaffa."

The Goa'uld swept out, followed by her bodyguard, and Tan'aul stood aside to let them pass.

"Are you well, Tan'aul?" Kal'rhe asked when they were gone.

"I did not know she was Goa'uld," the younger woman replied, rubbing at her shoulder again. "I tried to close the door on them and her guard thrust me aside."

"I know who he is," Bra'tac assured her. "Goddess' orders or no, I shall see he is punished for hurting you."

"Thank you, Bra'tac," Kal'rhe said, laying a gentle hand on Tan'aul's injured shoulder. "You were not badly injured?" She asked. "And...?" She tailed off, with a questioning glance at Bra'tac.

"The child is well, I think," Tan'aul replied. "You are now the third to know," she explained to Bra'tac.

"I am honoured," he told her. "And I trust that your child shall not have been harmed in defence of my home."

"We shall know soon enough," Tan'aul said. "For now we should look to Ry'auc. Tal ma'te; do you believe that the drug will do what the Goa'uld says it shall?"

Kal'rhe shook her head, slowly. "I do not know," she admitted. "But I can not see that we have any alternative but to try it and find out."

*

Teal'c was reviewing the list of warriors at his disposal and the preliminary reports of the scouts on Nagaz, when Kech'ek brought his sister, Kereh'ke, to see him. Teal'c idly confirmed his appointment of girl – who was young enough that the skin around her tattoo was still raw – and dismissed them both for the night, but Kereh'ke hovered for a moment.

"What is it?" He demanded.

"The seneschal said that you left this in her office," the girl said, holding out another tablet. "I am to return it to you, and say that you should be more careful."

Teal'c took the tablet, hiding his confusion. "Thank you," he said. "Now run along."

The girl dipped a curtsey and left, and Teal'c turned his attention to the tablet. As he had suspected it was not his; in fact he had never seen it before. It was a copy of an order, slated to be delivered to the First Prime by Jor'lac. It instructed that Apsis' two sections, under Jor'lac's command, were to join Teal'c's force, with Jor'lac as second-in-command of the combined company.

Teal'c was in two minds over these orders. On the one hand, he needed the troops; taking Nagaz would be tough even for a complete company, let alone a half. On the other hand, he hated the idea of fighting at Jor'lac's side. Jor'lac was a good officer however, and if he conducted himself professionally, he and Teal'c could work together. Then again, these orders should have been conducted to him already; seemingly Jor'lac intended to surprise and humiliate him in the morning, and that did not speak highly of his professionalism.

Teal'c felt certain that Jor'lac would try to undercut his authority and embarrass him as much as possible, counting on Apsis' favour to protect him. Doubtless Jor'lac would be disappointed when Teal'c did not argue his assumption of command.

The First Prime of Apophis reached inside his armour and touched the papyrus roll that carried the warrant for Jor'lac's death, and he smiled, grimly.

Rising from his seat, Teal'c went down into the city, and to a small but favourably-located dwelling. Teal'c knocked, and the door was answered by a petite, well-endowed young Jaffa woman, wearing a robe so ludicrously oversized that Teal'c knew it must belong to her lover. He asked for Fro'tac, and the girl called into the darkness behind her.

"Well, this is a surprise," Fro'tac remarked, coming to the door. He wore nothing but a blanket, and as he faced his old friend he wrapped his arms and the blanket around the woman. "It is some time since you have deigned to visit me at home, First Prime."

"We both know why that is," Teal'c reminded him.

"Aye," Fro'tac agreed. "But I still say that I did nothing wrong. Va'lar and Seteh'na were unwed; nothing bound me against wooing her."

Teal'c began to answer, but cut himself off, and took a calming breath. "I have not come to renew old disputes," he said, then paused again. "Actually," he admitted. "I have; but not that one."

"Jor'lac?" Fro'tac asked.

Teal'c nodded.

"Go back to bed, woman," Fro'tac instructed his lover.

"Yes, Tek re'ma," she replied, meekly, but her eyes flashed dangerously as she said it. Teal'c knew that Fro'tac did not much care for submissive women, and while propriety clearly held her from answering her patron back in front of a visitor, Teal'c guessed that there might be hell to pay once he was gone.

"Tek re'ma?" Teal'c asked, with mild incredulity. "Do not tell me that you have settled on a single woman?"

"Some years ago," Fro'tac confirmed, uncomfortably raising the subject of their long estrangement. "Her name is May'cu, and she is a baker's daughter. I may never gain status from our relationship, but I eat well, and she has other charms that are more apparent when she is wearing her own robe instead of mine."

Teal'c nodded, distractedly, unwilling to either enter into a critique of May'cu's ample charms, or to resurrect another old debate; that over the merits and failings of the Chulakan system of re'mata. While it allowed a form of social acceptance for cross-caste relationships, Teal'c had always been of the opinion that such couples should be permitted to wed freely. Instead they were bound to the inequitable estate of re'mata, which operated in all regards as marriage, save that a man needed no proof of cause to dissolve the pairing with his mistress.

"What is on your mind, old friend?" Fro'tac asked, sensing Teal'c's unease. "Surely you are not thrown by the fact that we return to Nagaz?"

"No," Teal'c replied. "Only that we return with Jor'lac, and I do not trust him."

"This is a child's feud," Fro'tac said, patiently. "You _must_ rise above this. You are First Prime of Apophis and he is a..."

"He killed Andromeda," Teal'c announced.

Fro'tac fell silent for a long moment. "What?" He asked, at last.

"I have known for years, but had no proof. I believe however that he will try to defy me on this mission, and then I will have him!"

"But he is Apsis' favourite," Fro'tac argued. "And he is not to be trifled with. He has come far since our days as students."

"But I am First Prime," Teal'c reminded his friend, choosing not to speak of Seket's commands. "Yet I can not be everywhere. Jor'lac shall serve as my second tomorrow. That is the command of Apophis," he added, knowing that Fro'tac might fairly have expected that honour to fall to him. "It shall keep him from me, for if I divide my force I shall have to entrust a part of it to him. Therefore I need _you_ to stay close to him. It is known that we have had our differences, and I have it in mind to make out that you have found my disfavour again. I shall give you a demeaning squad command, and place you under Jor'lac. If I judge him correctly..."

"He shall favour me to spite you," Fro'tac realised.

Teal'c nodded. "If he disobeys me, you shall inform me at once."

"And he shall pay for An'auc's murder," Fro'tac agreed. Whatever differences he and Teal'c had, Fro'tac would no sooner forgive Andromeda's killer than Bra'tac himself would. "It shall be as you say."

"Thank you, old friend," Teal'c said.

"Thank you," Fro'tac replied.

"For what?"

"For trusting me again," Fro'tac explained.

Teal'c gave a wan smile. "Do you remember that first battle?" He asked.

"As though it were yesterday," Fro'tac replied.

"And now we march to destroy the one whom we set up," Teal'c mused. "Is it not madness?"

"Such is the will of our God," Fro'tac shrugged. He paused. "Seteh'na told me that you kept all of Va'lar's writings when he died. Did that include his prayer to Amut?"

"Yes," Teal'c replied. "I still have it, although I doubt it would be wise to display that one."

"He should have been a priest," Fro'tac said.

"He should indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"I miss him."

Teal'c looked at Fro'tac, realising that he had never admitted this thing before. He clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder, feeling closer to him than he had in years. "As do I," he replied.

*

_Nagaz_

Three Jaffa warriors stood watch over the Chappa'ai, idling at their posts, for few visitors ever came to Nagaz, and fewer invaders. When the device thundered into life they were sharp enough to respond, but the arrival of a Serpent Guard distracted them, and by the time they realised this was an attack, two were dead and the third soon followed. At the outpost that watched the road it was the same; the Jaffa died before they even knew that they should be fighting instead of saluting.

As his company advanced on the fortified town and the fortress of Amut, Teal'c felt bad about the raid. The warriors of Amut wore the same armour as his Jaffa, and her personal guard wore the Serpent Helm, even as he did. From their reactions, it was clear that no declaration of hostility had been made, or if it had then Amut had concealed the fact from her followers, and there was no honour and little glory in such slaughter of the unsuspecting.

At the town, the gates stood open, and Teal'c sent two squads to secure the walls, under the command of his own former apprentice, Shak'l, and led the remainder directly up the slope to the fortress. He shot Fro'tac a meaningful look; if Jor'lac was going to make his move, it would be where he could massacre the most innocents in sacrifice to his God.

There was already fighting within the fortress, and although the walls were strong, the gate was open. Inside, they found the garrison divided between those loyal to their mistress, and those who held loyalty to Apophis higher. The former were killed, Teal'c's elite company easily tipping the balance, while the latter were obliged to surrender.

"Shall I arrange their executions?" Jor'lac asked, gleefully.

"No," Teal'c replied. "The Jaffa of Amut are to die, these are warriors of Apophis. Their only crime is folly, and Apophis alone shall decide how deep that runs, and whether they must die for it."

"As you command, First Prime," Jor'lac muttered.

"Where is Amut?" Teal'c asked the garrison prime.

"In her throne room," he replied. "It has strong doors, but few defenders remain."

Teal'c nodded. "Bring up the cannon," he ordered one of his squad leaders. "Have a messenger return to the encampment at the Chappa'ai and inform Lord Apsis that the palace will be secured for his arrival within the hour. Jor'lac, round up Amut's advisers and their families, and lock them within their chambers. They shall stay there while the palace burns."

"With all due respect, First Prime," Jor'lac said. "We should secure them more thoroughly. They could seek to take their own lives, robbing their deaths of suffering."

"My orders are that they are to die," Teal'c said. "In what manner was not specified. The servants are to be expelled from the palace with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The second section will clear the city, and..."

"First Prime," Jor'lac said again. "You can not mean to spare these enemies of Apophis? Your orders..."

"My orders made no mention of the servants, or the townsfolk," Teal'c snarled. "Do not question me again, Jaffa!" He looked away as the cannon squad arrived. "Jaffa, kree," he told the remaining warriors, who were watching to see if he would strike Jor'lac. No-one moved. "Kree!" Teal'c barked, and the warriors hurried to obey him.

Teal'c motioned for the cannon squad to follow him, and strode towards the throne room.

*

The doors of the throne room burst open in a pall of smoke and dust. The last remnants of Amut's guard fired into the haze, and two Serpent Guards were felled as they emerged, but Teal'c came out unscathed, dropping his enemies with lethal accuracy, and the fight was brief. Amut reached for a fallen staff weapon as Teal'c approached, but thought better of it.

"Kree'ta, First Prime," she snapped, her voice trembling. "I am the goddess, Amut; servant of Apophis and your mistress. I command you to lower your weapons and explain this absurd assault on my sovereignty."

"By order of Apophis, you are to be sealed within a polluted tomb," Teal'c announced. "You are declared traitor and enemy, to be shown no deference."

"No!" Amut snapped. "It can not be."

"You are condemned, for failing in that duty that Queen Amaunet set for you, and losing that which was precious to her."

"I do not believe...First Prime. This is absurd," Amut gabbled. "I shall speak to My Lord, Apophis," she declared.

"You are not to leave the palace," Teal'c told her. "Nor to send any message."

"You can not do this to me!" She pleaded. "I am a goddess! I can not be cast down over a stolen trinket." She held out her hands in supplication. "Have mercy, First Prime of Apophis," she begged. "Your kindness would not be forgotten. I am not so mighty as Apophis, but I will reward you as no Jaffa in the service of My Lord was ever rewarded."

Teal'c frowned. "Jaffa, Kree'ta," he ordered, and the two surviving warriors retired from the room.

Amut's face lit up. "Yes," she whispered, gleefully. "You shall have gold and jewels and the fairest maidens to serve you," she promised, slowly lifting her hand. "I shall..."

Teal'c dropped his staff weapon, lunged forward and caught Amut by the wrist, twisting her around before she could blast him with her ribbon device. He held her tightly and ripped the weapon from her left hand.

"Unhand me!" Amut squealed. "I should not have tried to deceive a brave and wise warrior such as yourself, but spare me and I swear that I can make it worth your while. If it is I that you desire..."

"Be silent!" Teal'c spat, still holding her in a vice-like grip, with her back pressed against his chest. Roughly he swung her to face her own throne, and an inscribed stone tablet that hung on the wall behind it. "Read!" He commanded.

"What...?"

"Read!"

"I...'All praise to Amut'," she began. "'Mistress of Nagaz; Lady of Battle. Bringer of Fire; Giver of Honour; Mighty and Proud; Oh you Strong and Majestic'..." She broke off, sobbing. "Why do you mock me?" She demanded.

Teal'c shook her hard. "The man who wrote that," he said. "Do you remember him?"

"Yes!" She cried.

"Tell me!"

"He...He was a Serpent Guard; young and handsome. He was the first Jaffa to write a prayer to me, in the first days of my divinity."

"What was his name?"

"I do not know," she whimpered.

"His name was Va'lar," he whispered in her ear. "He was my friend, and I killed him for failing Apophis. I mourn him a little every day, but I am _glad_ that he never saw you come to this. He held you as a paragon of divine grace and dignity, and yet you face your end as a snivelling coward!"

"How dare you speak to a goddess so?" She demanded, but her voice was weak and quavering.

"If you are a goddess," Teal'c said. "Then you owe this to me. For my friend's sake, I have spoken this prayer to you a thousand times, and you never had so devoted a worshipper as Va'lar of Chulak. As your disciples then, you _owe_ us a death that does not betray what you were to Va'lar." He pushed Amut away and stepped back, sweeping up his staff weapon to cover her.

"What do you want from me?" She gasped.

"You are condemned to a fate worse than death," Teal'c said. "But for the sake of Va'lar, try to face it with some dignity."

Something in Teal'c's voice seemed to catch Amut's attention, and she looked up, a glow in her eyes beyond the Goa'uld fire. He could see the change occur in her, the pride returning to her bearing and expression, until she glowed with such strength and nobility that it seemed wrong to strike her.

"So be it," Amut said, her voice steady. "Do what you must, First Prime."

Teal'c nodded his head in grave reverence. "Thank you, My Lady." He pressed the trigger, and shot her through the abdomen.

*

Teal'c emerged from the throne room feeling dizzy and slightly nauseous. He had laid his hands upon a goddess; a condemned goddess perhaps, but a goddess nonetheless, and whatever his beliefs had been, it was only now that he truly realised how small and mortal the Goa'uld were.

A small group of Jaffa were waiting for him, along with Maewa, securely chained.

"Are you well, First Prime?" One of the Jaffa asked.

"I am fine," Teal'c replied, although he felt weary to the bone. "The goddess Amut waits in her prison; the leper shall be sent in to her in one hour, as Apophis commanded." Amut had descended into the chamber as much as possible under her own power, her stoicism at the end impressing Teal'c in spite of himself. As Maewa had predicted, the chamber was Amut's bathing pool, where the mineral spring would feed her symbiote and sustain her for many years.

"Do not blame yourself," Maewa whispered, as Teal'c passed close to her. The look of pity in her eyes told him that she meant what she said, but it still only made him feel worse for condemning her.

 "Teal'c!" Fro'tac burst into the antechamber.

"What is it?" Teal'c asked, turning away from Maewa.

"We have sealed the advisers and their kin within their chambers, and gathered the servants as you ordered, but Jor'lac is not releasing them, and has sent away all but his own squad."

Teal'c shivered at a memory of dead civilians, lying where Jor'lac has slaughtered them in the last attack on Nagaz.

"I thought you should know, so..."

"Thank you, Fro'tac," Teal'c said, clapping his hand on the other man's shoulder. "Tell me where Jor'lac has the prisoner's held."

"In the courtyard of Amut's harem," Fro'tac replied.

"Find two squads who you trust and join me there," Teal'c ordered.

"Yes, First Prime."

*

Despite the urgency of his mission, Teal'c almost stopped at the entrance to the harem. All that lay beyond was women's country; off-limits to all men – or gods – without the express permission of those who dwelt within. In a male Goa'uld's house, the harem would be home to his Queen and concubines; in the palace of a goddess it was simply a retreat from the cares of godhead. No guards stood at the door, neither hulking eunuchs nor strapping amazons, yet Teal'c felt somehow guilty entering.

At the sound of a shot – a zat'nik'tel blast – Teal'c's hesitancy vanished, and he plunged on, past the curtained alcoves and silk-covered couches, though to the main courtyard. An ornamental pond lay in the centre of the great, open square, the waters stained an perturbed by the two corpses floating within. Another eight servants lay dead around the edge of the pond, and three more at the rear door, where they had been shot down seeking to flee. Amid this carnage, Jor'lac stood as king, a zat'nik'tel in one hand, a cloven-bladed knife in the other, and a young boy writhing in agony at his feet.

As Teal'c emerged from the passageway, one of Jor'lac's Jaffa stepped towards him, but the First Prime knocked him down with a single punch to the face, snatching the staff weapon from his hands as he fell. With a deliberate tread he advanced on Jor'lac, who was so absorbed by his victim's suffering that he only noticed Teal'c at the last minute. He turned, and Teal'c swung the staff twice, knocking the weapons from his enemy's hands.

"Teal'c!" Jor'lac spat.

"You disobeyed my orders!"

"Yours were cowards orders! You always give coward's orders; just like Bra'tac. You pervert the bloody will of Apophis with your cowardice, you weak-spirited traitor." He signalled, and Teal'c was aware of Jor'lac's squad closing in on him.

Teal'c turned, levelling the staff weapon and firing, then spinning it around to take down a second Jaffa before the first had even realised he was shot. He gave a feral snarl, and the other Jaffa backed away. Teal'c had already pushed them from his mind, focusing solely on Jor'lac, who had gathered up a staff and was aiming it at his back. He spun, knocking aside the staff tip, and the battle was joined in earnest.

Jor'lac was a powerful fighter, and always had been, but he was too aggressive, too reliant on his strength, and against Teal'c, strength could never win. He turned Jor'lac's blows against his staff, deflecting instead of trying to absorb the force, holding his own energies in reserve. After only five or six attacks, Jor'lac was beginning to tire, and he fell into a more defensive posture. By that time it was too late, and he had already worn himself down too much to rally. Teal'c batted Jor'lac's weapon from side to side, then with a swift, sharp blow to the centre of the staff, knocked it from his numbed hands.

"I yield!" Jor'lac called.

Teal'c felt a surge of triumph. "In Apophis' name, you are condemned," he said. "Traitor and murderer: Die!"

Teal'c lowered his staff for the kill, but Jor'lac held out his hand and a flash of energy leaped from his wrist. The blast burned into Teal'c's shoulder, and he dropped his staff, flinching away and stumbling badly. He was shocked and appalled that any Jaffa – even Jor'lac – would make use of such a low trick.

"Now at last," Jor'lac hissed, too quiet for his fellows to hear. "You join your whore in death."

Jor'lac turned to pick up his staff weapon. Unseen however, one of the servants had crept forward during the duel and seized Jor'lac's fallen knife. As he turned now, she stepped forward and stabbed the blade into him with all her strength. Jor'lac gave a high-pitched gasp of pain, then stepped back, clutching at the hilt of the knife in shock. Blood fountained over his hands, red and blue mixing together where the weapon had pierced flesh and symbiote together.

One of Jor'lac's squad raised his staff weapon, but fell to the floor, blue lightning arcing around him.

"Drop your weapons!" Fro'tac ordered, as his Serpent Guards moved to surround Jor'lac's. "All of you, lay down your arms, now. First Prime, are you injured?"

"I shall be well," Teal'c assured him, staring down at Jor'lac. His enemy was writhing in agony, clutching at the killing blade as his prim'ta's poison blood burned through his veins.

"By the Gods!" Jor'lac gasped. "Please, kill me. The...pain...!"

"This is how she died," Teal'c said. "This pain you are feeling; she felt it as well. She did not beg for release, however. She faced her end like a warrior."

"She was...no warrior," Jor'lac spat. "She was a low woman; a harlot who deserved no better death than she received."

"You seek to make me angry," Teal'c noted. He stood over Jor'lac and trapped the other Jaffa's wrist beneath his boot. Bending down, he removed the hidden weapon from Jor'lac's armour. It was a small energy blaster, built into a slate-grey bracer, decorated with a pattern of leaves, concealing a serpent. "It will not work, Jor'lac. I have no rage left in me for you." He turned to Fro'tac. "Take them away and hold them with the other prisoners," he instructed.

"First Prime; should I send the leech..."

"There is no need," Teal'c assured him. "My wound is quite small."

"As you wish, First Prime."

As the other warriors left, Teal'c sat down beside Jor'lac to watch him die a slow, painful death. After a moment, he turned to the servants. "You may all leave," he said. "Find your families and leave the town." They all but fell over each other in the rush to get away; all save the woman who had stabbed Jor'lac.

"Did you not hear?" Teal'c asked, trying to ignore Jor'lac's screams and imprecations. "Leave, now."

"I have murdered a Serpent Guard," the woman said, with fragile calm. "If I leave, my people will suffer in the search for me. I knew that they must, even when I stabbed him."

"Then why act to protect me?" Teal'c asked.

"There was a debt between us, Teal'c," she replied. "I repay my debts."

"Sahl'oé?"

"So you do remember me," she said. "We are now even, First Prime of Apophis. I shall suffer for my crime, but I shall die with no burden upon me, no debt unpaid, and knowing that my family is safe."

"You will not be punished," Teal'c assured her. "Nor shall there be any hunt."

"My Lord Apsis will find her!" Jor'lac seethed. "Her family will die before her eyes, and only when she begs for it will he kill her."

"Go now," Teal'c told her. "There shall be no hunt."

"She killed a Serpent Guard!" Jor'lac screamed. "You can not ignore that!"

Teal'c held out Jor'lac's blaster and fired, silencing the wounded Jaffa's cries. "You killed no-one," he told her.

"And what about you?"

"I have My Lord Apophis' warrant," Teal'c replied. "No harm shall befall me."

Sahl'oé bowed low. "That is the second time you have saved my life, Master Teal'c."

"I would have watched him die otherwise," Teal'c told her. "And taken great joy in his pain. You have saved my life today, and perhaps my soul as well. I consider all your debt to me paid in full."

Sahl'oé bowed again, even lower. "My the Gods smile upon you," she said.

"Thank you, Sahl'oé," he said, recognising the sincerity of her blessing, even if he doubted its worth. "Now go. I do not expect to see you again."

"As you say, Master Teal'c," Sahl'oé agreed, and she left him sitting with the body of his enemy.

*

"I will have blood for this!" Apsis bellowed, crashing into the courtyard, eyes burning.

"Praise be to you, My Lord Apsis," Teal'c greeted him, calmly.

"I will have blood for this, First Prime," Apsis repeated. "Bring me the witch who killed my Prime, that I might destroy her with my own hands!"

"She is gone from this place," Teal'c replied.

"Then find her! Burn this whole world to the bare rock if you have to! I am insulted by this act of insolence, and I will not begin my reign with defiance."

"My Lord, you must not seek this woman," Teal'c said. "In this she was the hand of Our Lord Apophis."

For a moment, Teal'c feared that he had pressed the Goa'uld too far. His eyes burned hotter, and his face flushed red with rage, but then he seemed to recover his self-control a little. "Explain!" He hissed.

"A mere servant girl could not defeat a Serpent Guard with a blade," Teal'c explained. "And Jor'lac had disobeyed my orders, assaulted me, and ordered his squad to do the same. Clearly then, it was the will of Apophis that this shol'va, who had abused My Lord Apsis' trust, should die in this way. Did he not condemn Jor'lac with his own hand?" So-saying, he presented Apsis with the warrant for Jor'lac's execution.

"I...see," Apsis said, mastering his anger. "So be it then, First Prime. You have done well and performed the will of your God."

Teal'c bowed his head. "Thank you, My Lord," he said. "Praise be to you and your blessing."

"Has Amut been sealed away and condemned?"

"As per My Lord Apophis' command, she will be sealed within the chamber at the passing of the hour. I shall see that the leper is prepared."

"Do so," Apsis agreed, dismissing Teal'c with an angry flick of his hand.

"As you command, My Lord."

*

Once his duty on Nagaz was done, Teal'c was only too eager to depart. The death of Jor'lac had left him feeling somehow uneasy and confused, notwithstanding that it was what he had wanted for decades. He also felt some guilt for leaving Apsis in charge of this poor, benighted world, for bringing down a goddess who had at the last shown herself capable of great dignity, and for the sad fate of poor, brave Maewa.

"Go well, First Prime," Apsis said, insincerely, once the rest of the Teal'c's warriors had passed through the Chappa'ai. "But know this. You shall pay for your insolence one day, and I shall be there to see it." The Goa'uld had grown more and more belligerent as the day wore on, and Teal'c could sense that he was spoiling for a fight. He looked more uncomfortable than any Goa'uld Teal'c had ever encountered, periodically scratching and wriggling in his armour.

"I witnessed the rise of Amut, and I saw her fall," Teal'c replied, boldly. "Her passing grieves me, for a good friend loved her, but know that I shall raise a cup in celebration when you are gone."

"You dare!" Apsis demanded, his towering rage deflated somewhat as he was forced to scratch at his neck.

"You appear to be in some discomfort," Teal'c noted.

Apsis stepped forward, enraged. "I shall send you back to Chulak in chains, shol'va," he threatened.

"I do not think so," Teal'c replied. "Your discomfort appears to stem from a lesion on your neck. You have contracted leprosy from the girl, Maewa," he accused. "Which means that you must have laid hands on that which My Lord Apophis ordered you not to touch."

Apsis' guards looked uneasy, unsure what was going on. Teal'c knew that he had to act fast, or their loyalty to the Goa'uld – any Goa'uld – would override their respect for the office of First Prime.

"As you swore before Seket Paternyt-Apep that you had not touched her before coming to the palace, you must have done so after the injunction was raised. By the order and warrant of Apophis, I therefore..." As the shocked Apsis rallied and raised his hand device, Teal'c calmly fired a staff blast through his neck. "...deliver his justice unto you."

Apsis swayed, the light of his eyes flaring once, then dying away.

"As Apophis wills, so let it be," Teal'c said. He turned his eyes on the astonished guards. "He is dead," he said. "You know that this can only be by the blessing of a greater god."

The guards looked one to another, then Jor'lac's replacement turned to Teal'c. "We are Apophis' loyal servants," he said.

"He knows it well," Teal'c acknowledged, with a bow. "May he watch over you."

"And over you, First Prime."

"Do not place him in his sarcophagus," Teal'c said. "Let him rot here."

*

_Chulak_

Teal'c stepped from the Gate, his feelings more conflicted than ever. He felt some satisfaction in completing all of the missions given to him, but he felt as though he had somehow failed. He pushed aside his concerns however, putting on a stoic expression, for there to meet him was Seket.

"Praise be to you, My Lady," he said.

"Honour to you, First Prime," Seket replied.

"The traitor, Amut, is punished," Teal'c went on. "As are the traitors Apsis and Jor'lac."

A wan smile crossed Seket's face. "It is well done, First Prime," she told him. "But you must go now. Despite my best efforts, your mother's symbiote will wait no longer to seek a host. She will undergo the Rite of M'al Sharran within the hour."

Teal'c felt his heart shatter. "The hour?" He moaned. "I shall not have finished my report to Lord Apophis..."

"Go _now_ ," Seket said. "You have done your duty to your God, now do your duty to your family. Come as soon as you may to Lord Apophis; all shall be well."

Teal'c was immediately suspicious, but if what she said about his mother was true, he had no choice. "My Lady is as gracious as she is beautiful," he said.

Seket acknowledged the flattery with a dismissive wave, which also served to motion Teal'c on his way.

_*_

Teal'c ran from the Chappa'ai to the house of Bra'tac, where his teacher hurried him to the courtyard, where Ry'auc lay on a couch in the open air.

"I am pleased that you have returned in time," Bra'tac told his former student, helping him to remove his armour so that Ry'auc could embrace her son, and not a husk of metal. "She has asked for you many times, and feared that you might die on this mission."

"I have seldom come closer," Teal'c admitted, touching a hand to the healing wound on his shoulder. "But I live yet. Jor'lac of the Black Lane does not."

Bra'tac closed his eyes and took a calming breath. "You shall tell me of it later," he said. "I shall be in need of glad news then. Now, you must go to your mother."

"Of course, Tek ma'te," Teal'c agreed, shucking his chainmail.

"Teal'c!" Ry'auc sat up at her son's approach, her face splitting in a smile so peaceful and merry that it warmed his heart, despite the solemnity of the occasion. "You are back."

"Mother," Teal'c said, kneeling by her couch and folding her in a tight hug. "Did you really think that I would not return for this?"

"Oh, my beautiful boy," Ry'auc sighed. "I was so afraid for you."

"I am well," he assured her.

Ry'auc frowned. "You smell of blood and battle," she noted. "How long is it since you returned to Chulak?"

"A few hours," Teal'c lied.

"You have not brought word to Apophis!" Ry'auc realised, horrified. "Oh, my Teal'c! Were you defeated? Have you come here only to see you kin before you die?" She asked, thinking of the death of his father, Ron'ac.

"No, Mother," he promised her. "I have not been to Apophis, because I was bidden by his emissary to attend you first."

"You might be punished..."

"I might, but I would not trade my well-being if it meant that I must not be with you now. Although I hate to see you this way," he added, sorrowfully.

"I know," she said, gently. "That is why I do not wish you to stay for the Rite."

"Mother?"

"I wanted...I needed to see you, to know that you were alright before I died and to tell you once more that I love you, but I will not put you through this pain. Besides...Please take no offence, my darling son, but I wish Bra'tac to sit my vigil alone. You and I have always spoken freely to each other, but I have guarded my words with Bra'tac, and he with me. The time for such cautious speech is now past, and there are things I must say to him in private before I die."

"I...I understand," Teal'c said, reluctantly. "But..."

"Hush," Ry'auc chided. "This is not the end, my son. We shall meet again, when you pass beyond into the duat. I shall be waiting for you, and I am counting on waiting a very long time," she added.

"I love you, mother," Teal'c whispered, burying his face in her hair.

"Oh, my darling Teal'c," Ry'auc whispered, soothingly. "You have made me so proud. Take care of our family when I am gone," she enjoined him. "And never forget that I love you."

"I shall," Teal'c promised. "And shall not," he added.

Ry'auc smiled. "Take care of yourself, also," she added. "Guard your tongue, and confide in no-one you do not trust completely. Remember Andromeda, because she deserves to be remembered, but do not let that keep you from loving Drey'auc as _she_ deserves. Oh, my child," she said. "There is so much I should say."

Teal'c squeezed her gently in his embrace. "Mother; you have taught me to be all that I am," he assured her. "All these things you have told me, if not with words then through your actions." He kissed her hair again. "I am your son, Mother. I shall live in your light, and shall not disgrace you."

Ry'auc gave a small gasp to hear her son speak those words; part of a ritual farewell to a dying father. Tears welled in her eyes, and her heart ached; she had long worried that her pride had denied Teal’c a father’s support, and it was as though Teal’c were absolving her of this one guilt that she had never spoken of.  "You must go now," she whispered. "My time draws near, and you must bring word of your victory to Apophis."

"I..."

"Say no more," she whispered. "There is no more for us to say. We shall not meet again in this world."

"But shall be reunited in the blessed lands, beyond death," Teal'c responded.

"Bless you my son, and the true powers of this universe keep you." Ry'auc lay wearily back on her couch and closed her eyes.

"Rest well, my Mother," Teal'c whispered, bending to kiss her brow.

"It is time?" Bra'tac asked, approaching as Teal'c rose from Ry'auc's side.

"It is," Teal'c replied. "I must attend Apophis, Tek ma'te. My Mother asks that you stay with her now."

"It shall be my honour," Bra'tac agreed. "Go quickly, Teal'c; even with Seket's support, Apophis' patience does not stretch far."

Teal'c nodded, and set out for the palace of Apophis.

 

"We did well, did we not?" Ry'auc asked.

"We did," Bra'tac replied, settling himself beside her.

Ry'auc reached out and took Bra'tac's hand in hers. "He is still rash and proud. Look after him for me."

Bra'tac gave a short laugh. "When he will let me," he agreed.

Ry'auc sighed. "Please ask Kal'rhe to come now," she said. "It is time."

"Marry me," Bra'tac said.

"What?" Ry'auc laughed, almost giddily. "Oh, Bra'tac," she said, as the old Jaffa looked away, awkwardly. "That is very sweet of you, and I thank you for the offer."

"I meant to ask you before," he admitted. "Many times, but..."

"But you feared that to do so would be to dishonour Ariadne," Ry'auc finished for him. By custom, Jaffa widowers did not remarry, but as his first bride was a human, Bra'tac would have been free to do so had he wished. "And you were correct," she told him. "She was a good friend to me, for too short a time, and I would not do that to her, nor ask it of you."

Bra'tac smiled, sadly. "You are a good woman," he told her. "You deserve my recognition, after all your care for me and for my Ariadne."

"Your love is enough," she assured him.

"That you already have."

"Whatever gave you such an idea?" Ry'auc asked. "You are many things, my beloved Bra'tac, but a romantic fool was never one of them."

"Your son and my daughter were wed as she died," Bra'tac explained. "It was his final gift to her; to let her know how much he cared for her."

Ry'auc touched his face, gently. "It is enough for me to die your Tal re'ma; and to know that you thought so highly of me. I would have you sit by me during the Rite," she added. "There is much I must say to you, and much I would have you know of my life."

"As I told Teal'c; it is my honour," Bra'tac said. He turned to call for the chantress, only to see her approaching across the courtyard. "It is time," he told her.

"I know," she replied, kneeling at his side. "Are you ready, dear Ry'auc?"

"I am," Ry'auc replied.

"Then let the Rite of M'al Sharran usher you into the duat, where you shall find peace and contentment."

Away to the edge of the courtyard, Tan'aul began to sing the chant of M'al Sharran in a high, sweet voice. Kal'rhe joined in, reciting the second part, her voice both lower and richer than that of her apprentice. Bra'tac clasped his lover's hand in his, and kissed her tenderly on the lips, as Kal'rhe reached into Ry'auc's pouch and withdrew the Goa'uld symbiote.

"Go in peace, old friend," Kal'rhe whispered, rising and backing away, leaving Bra'tac and Ry'auc alone.

"Tal ma'te?" Tan'aul asked, gesturing to the writhing Goa'uld.

"I shall take care of this one," Kal'rhe assured her.

"You will kill it," Tan'aul said.

"This troubles you?" Kal'rhe asked. Tan'aul was well-acquainted with her heretical beliefs, but sometimes found it hard to reconcile them with her upbringing.

"They seem so helpless," Tan'aul replied. It was not what Kal'rhe had expected.

"They are not," she assured the younger woman. "But fear not for this little one; I have found him a host. My friend has borne him seven years, and I will not let him die now. Besides, I dare to hope that this one may be different from the rest. I must hurry, while he retains the strength," she added, stroking the creature's head until it grew quiescent, curling its muscular body around her forearm.

Tan'aul looked startled. "Tal ma'te!" She whispered, reverently. "I knew that you had grown powerful, but I did not know that you could influence the Goa'uld themselves. Truly, you are Cor'eb al!"

"Hush!" Kal'rhe hissed. "You risk your life speaking of such fairy stories."

"If they were but stories, why would they be proscribed on pain of death?" Tan'aul asked, grasping Kal'rhe's free hand. "You are a holy woman, Tal ma'te."

"I taught you too well," Kal'rhe sighed, shaking her head. "But we can not speak of this now," she added, rearranging the loose sleeve of her mendicant's robe to cover the Goa'uld. "When I return."

"Yes, Tal ma'te."

"Aid Bra'tac if he needs it," Kal'rhe instructed. "Otherwise, leave him in peace."

"Of course, Kal'rhe."

"Good girl," the chantress commended.

*

Teal'c was forced to don his armour on the move, an uncomfortable exertion, but as Bra'tac had said, he could not afford to waste any time. Apophis' had little patience, and it was likely already spent.

"Praise to you, My Lady," he greeted Seket at the doors to the throne room.

"Honour to you, Teal'c," she replied. He was still reeling from her use of his given name when she reached out and straightened his armour. "My fate rests on this audience as well," she told him. "His patience grows thin, and you must please him or he will grow angry."

"Thank you, My Lady."

"Thank you, First Prime," Seket corrected him. "And my condolences on your loss."

 

The audience with Apophis was one of the most anxious periods of his service, but after almost three hours, Teal'c emerged unscathed. He had given a long account of the battle, including a detailed and somewhat exaggerated description of Amut's pleading, omitting his intervention, and his admiration for the dignity of her final moments. Apophis' eyes had constantly scrutinised him for signs of deceit, while Amaunet demanded that he repeat the tale of Amut's humiliation time and again, and Teal'c felt more exhausted by the telling of the mission than he had by the mission itself.

"My Lady Seket desires that you attend her," Kereh'ke told him, when he tried to retreat to his office for a few hours solitude before returning to his own home.

Teal'c sighed and made his way to Paternyt-Apep's office.

"Sit down, First Prime," she said. "Drink this." She placed a cup of klah'c on the table before him, yet another gesture that seemed out of place from a Goa'uld. "I am in a generous mood," she told him, in answer to his baffled look. "After many years of unremarked service, I am to become the new regent of Nagaz."

"That is why you wished Apsis destroyed," Teal'c thought, the words slipping out before he could stop them. "Forgive me, My Lady," he said. "I am weary, and..."

Seket held up a hand to silence him. "I wished Apsis destroyed because of what he was...and what he did to me," she admitted. "That is none of your concern however. I merely wished to congratulate you once more. I understand that you also fulfilled your personal goal on Nagaz, and slew your enemy, Jor'lac."

"Yes, My Lady," he agreed.

"My congratulations again," she said. "It is a shame that you are already First Prime of Apophis," she added. "I shall have to seek a Primarch for my garrison, and you would honour any Goa'uld whom you served."

"My Lady is too kind."

"Your Lady is in your debt, First Prime," she assured him. "You shall have a friend on Nagaz for as long as I live."

"My Lady is too kind," Teal'c repeated.

"You do not believe me?" She asked.

"I believe that you will turn on me if it suits your purpose," he replied.

"You are very brave," she applauded him. "But too incautious. I hope that you will not be killed by that failing." She shrugged. "I would rest now, Teal'c."

"As My Lady wishes," Teal'c replied. He stood and bowed, then paused. "My Lady," he asked. "What was it that Amut lost?"

"A trinket," Seket replied. "A bauble. A bracelet of no great worth and no sentimental value, given to her by Amaunet and then stolen."

"For this she was condemned?"

"No, Teal'c," Seket told him. "She was condemned for a kiss. One, little kiss, bestowed upon her by Apophis with an excess of ardour and an insufficiency of discretion."

"A kiss...?"

"Sleep well, Teal'c," Seket interrupted him.

"Yes, My Lady Seket. Praise to you."

"Honour to you."

*

_Nagaz_

Seket passed through the Chappa'ai, accompanied by her personal guard. "This point will have to be more strongly defended," she noted. "It has fallen twice without significant resistance. Amut was foolish to retain the arrangements which failed the one she took this world from. We shall make camp here, until the city is rebuilt and my palace is prepared," she added, gazing at the pillar of smoke on the horizon. "Send Jaffa to gather the people and begin the work as soon as the earth is cooled."

"Yes, My Lady," her Primarch acknowledged.

Seket watched the smoke rise until her great tent was pitched, then went inside. She dismissed her handmaidens and poured herself a drink, sitting wearily on her bed. Tears long held in check ran from her eyes, and at length she began to sob, gently, not looking up, even when a soft tread sounded at the entrance to her inner sanctum.

"No goddess should shed tears," the resonant voice scolded. "Dry your eyes, fool!"

Seket looked up, wiping at her face. The newcomer was a fierce-looking woman, with dark-blonde hair and a predatory, almost violent air, quite different from the one Seket remembered her possessing.

"Rosha!" Seket exclaimed, in an altogether human voice. "What has happened to you?"

"Be quiet," The other Goa'uld hissed. "You must never let down your guard, whether you believe you are alone or not. You know this, my friend."

Seket composed herself. "I am sorry, Jolinar," she said, once more in the voice of her symbiote. "Perhaps I was not ready to undertake this duty after all, but it has been so hard without..." She stopped, still unable to even think of the sarcophagus – of the numbing comfort that it had once brought her troubled mind – without desiring to slip into her old ways.

"You have done very well, Seket," Jolinar assured her. "For over a century you have been the Council's ears in the court of Apophis, and it was past time to bring you out. We shall go through the Stargate tonight, and..."

"No," Seket replied. "Nerea and I have discussed it, and we are staying. We are no longer in the heart of Apophis' council, but we shall be able to provide some information. Also, I believe that there would be value in seeking to convert the people of this world. They have been through so many gods, they must be starting to doubt."

"These people are Jaffa," Jolinar reminded her fellow Tok'ra.

"The Jaffa do not all serve willingly and without question," Seket assured her. "And many of those in my current guard will already follow me above Apophis."

"They can not turn," Jolinar insisted.

"That is what some Tok'ra say about the Goa'uld," Seket reminded her. "If you believed that, you would never have recruited me."

"It is too dangerous, I...Someone is coming." Jolinar started up, and disappeared behind the curtains which hung over and around each canvas wall.

Seket quickly dried her eyes and composed herself.

"My Lady!" The man who entered was one of the guards she had spoken of; a Jaffa named Shek'ac, whom she trusted more than any of the others and whom she would most likely promote as her Primarch. It was to Shek'ac and his squad that she had entrusted a secret mission, in defiance of Apophis' edicts.

"You found the chamber?" She asked.

"It was not easy, My Lady," he replied. "But we did; and the two women inside, as you said."

"And you slew the leper girl?"

"No, My Lady."

"What!" Seket exclaimed, angrily.

"She was already dead; by her own hand."

Seket was taken aback. "How?" She demanded.

"It appears as though she shot the other woman, and then herself," Shek'ac explained. "With this."

Seket took the proffered item. "Thank you, Shek'ac," she said. "You may go now. You have done well," she added.

"Thank you, My Lady."

"And what was that about?" Jolinar asked.

"Some Jaffa might surprise you," Seket replied. "Some might even surprise themselves." She threw the device and Jolinar caught it: A small blaster, built into a slate-grey bracer, decorated with a pattern of leaves, concealing a serpent.

*

_Chulak_

"It is not enough," Teal'c said.

"Teal'c," Bra'tac began, in a calming tone.

"You and I know that the rule of the Goa'uld is unjust," Teal'c went on, heedless of his mentor's protests. "Yet we stay quiet."

"We can do nothing," Bra'tac reminded Teal'c. "They have the power. All we can do is try to temper their anger sometimes, and even to do that, we must at other times do things that we find unconscionable."

"Those are not the only choices," Teal'c insisted. "There must be another way; a way to make our people free."

"We have not the strength..."

"I did not say there was a way by strength. It was not by strength that I defeated Jor'lac. I would have died by his treachery had I not shown kindness in my first battle. Maewa had less strength that we have, yet Apophis so feared her that he placed an unprecedented bounty on her head."

"And she was caught and killed, Teal'c!" Bra'tac exclaimed. "As are all those who rebel against the Goa'uld!"

"Not all," Teal'c said, with certainty. "There is a way, Tek ma'te Bra'tac; and I shall find it."

"You shall die!" Bra'tac spat. "And for what?"

"For the freedom of our people," Teal'c said, softly.

"This is a fool's quest, my friend," Bra'tac cautioned.

"Perhaps," Teal'c agreed. "But it is a right and noble cause. You did not wish to see your daughter fight for the Goa'uld; why should I want anything different for my son?"

Bra'tac sighed. "I am an old man," he said. "Just one old man, alone in the world," he added, gesturing towards the line of graves that held the three women he had cared most for in all the world. "But if you find this way..." He waved, dismissively, snorting in disgust at his own foolish hopes. "Just try not to get yourself killed," he said. "Your mother will not forgive me if you join her before I do."

"It was you who taught me to accept my doubts," Teal'c reminded the older Jaffa.

"I did not know what I was creating," Bra'tac groused.

Teal'c turned to face Ry'auc's grave. "Hear me, mother," he said, proudly. "I will find a way to make our people free." He turned to Bra'tac. "Will you help me, Tek ma'te?"

"Aye," Bra'tac agreed, with a show of reluctance. "If you do not get yourself killed within a month."

"Then we are two," Teal'c said.

"One," Bra'tac corrected, sternly. "With one more promised if you come up with something more substantial than a dream."

"One-and-a-half," Teal'c amended. "And that is the start of an army."

Teal'c turned and strode down the hill towards the city. Bra'tac turned one last time to Ry'auc's grave. "We did very well," he said.


End file.
